New Jersey Online Gambling Up 16.6% to $24.8m in August

In August, New Jersey’s online gambling market may not have beaten the record $25.9 million set during the previous month, but its revenue of $24.8 million was still a solid 16.6% improvement compared to the same month in 2017.

For the first eight months of 2018, the Garden State has now generated $190.2 million in online gambling revenue, representing a 16.5% gain versus the same period last year. From that tally, online casino products collected $175.4 million, or a whopping 92.5% of all revenues, while online poker has contributed a mere $14.8 million so far this year, lower by 11% year-over-year.

Poker Just 7% of Revenue

According to figures released yesterday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), online casinos accounted for the majority of revenues in August, and generated roughly $23 million, higher by 20% year-on-year. The poker vertical, on the other hand, continued its slide and fell by 13% to a little over $1.8 million. As a result, poker currently commands a paltry 7% share of the state’s overall online gambling revenues, despite the tri-state liquidity agreement launched in May.

Golden Nugget Leads the Way

Last month, the Golden Nugget’s online casino-only operation topped the market once more having generated a respectable $8.2 million in revenue. Nevertheless, business for the casino’s family of sites (Betfair, PlaySugarhouse, GoldenNuggetCasino) was still significantly down on the $9.3 million that they collected in July.

Next highest was Borgata with $4.65 million in August; followed by Resorts Digital Gaming on $4 million; Tropicana’s casino-only operation on $3.6 million, and Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ on a little under $3.5 million.

In the meantime, New Jersey’s two newest additions to the online gambling market, the Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino, both of which are casino-only licensees, generated $482k and $386k respectively. Encouragingly, these figures marked an $100k+ improvement on the amount each site collected in July, which was their first operational month.

Caesars Rules iPoker Market

Included in the aforementioned numbers is the state’s online poker vertical. Prior to New Jersey joining Nevada and Delaware’s Multi-State Internet Gaming Association (MSIGA) in May, Resorts Digital Gaming and its partner PokerStars ruled the roost, followed by Borgata, with Caesars bringing up the rear.

The very next month following its launch, however, Caesars and its internet poker sites jumped to the top of the list, where it has remained ever since. That’s because it is the only operation with a presence in all three regulated markets, and is therefore the only one able to take advantage of cross-border shared liquidity.

In August, Caesars (888, WSOP) subsequently collected $725k in online poker revenue, placing it above Resorts (PokerStars) on $651k, and Borgata (Borgata Poker, PartyPoker, playMGM) on $440k.

Overall Revenues Hit $303.9m

Including revenue from its land-based casinos, New Jersey’s gambling market generated $303.9 million in revenue last month, including $196.4 million from its slots operation, up by 18.3% year-on-year, and $75.5 million from its table games, or a massive 28% more than last August. This represent an impressive 24.1% increase versus the same month in 2017, and $30 million more than the amount taken in July 2018.

Furthermore, Atlantic City’s 9 casinos would still have seen their business grow 20.7% to $270 million even if contributions made by online gambling ($24.8m) and the state’s new sports betting market ($9.2m) were not included.

Upward Curve

In 2006, Atlantic City’s casino market hit a peak of $5.2 billion in revenue, with the industry also providing employment for more than 50,000 people that year. Following a decade of decline, AC subsequently collected $2.66 billion in 2017, marking a 2.2% increase over 2016, and so far this year its revenue is up by 3.5% on 2017.

According to the DGE, there were 30,217 part-time and full-time casino jobs in July, or around 7,000 more than at the same time last year. Commenting upon the hugely positive development, Bob McDevitt, President of the Local 54 casino union, stated:

“What this indicates to me is that Atlantic City’s down business has bottomed out. We’re now on an upward curve. I believe this is a sign that the city has turned a corner.”